Peter Strzok: ‘My gut sense and concern there’s no big there there.’

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

WASHINGTON – During an appearance on Wisconsin’s Jay Weber Show, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, revealed new text message exchanges between Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) employees who both worked at the FBI on the Clinton Investigation and then for Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Of note, one text message sent on May 19, 2017, shortly after the Deputy Attorney General appointed Mueller as special counsel seems to imply Strzok was skeptical about the inquiry.

This new text message follows the revelation from this weekend that the FBI does not have access to text messages between Strzok and Page for the time period between Dec. 14, 2016 and May 17, 2017. Johnson sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray Saturday seeking answers to questions about the missing communications from that period of time.

Excerpts from the interview are below, and the full segment can be found here.

Johnson: “And then on May 19th we have a big gap—a five-month gap. And now the texts begin again. This is two days after Mueller was appointed Special Counsel. Strzock writes—they’re talking back and forth about their future at the FBI given the recent appointment of Mueller. They’re talking about what they ought to do. And it indicates their considering joining that Mueller Special Counsel investigation.

Johnson: “Strzok says, quote, ‘You and I both know the odds are nothing. If I thought it was likely, I’d be there no question. I hesitate in part because of my gut sense and concern there’s no big there there.’ In other words, Peter Strzok was the FBI Deputy Assistant Director of the Counter Intelligence Division, and the man had a plan to do something, because he just couldn’t abide Donald Trump being president.”

Johnson: “It’s saying that his gut sense that there’s no big there there, when it comes to the Mueller Special Counsel investigation. He doesn’t really want to join that because his gut sense is there’s no big there there. I think that’s kind of shocking.”

Johnson: “The correct reaction is we need to see the five months of missing texts, because, who knows. Again, texts between two people having an extra-marital affair, and they’re completely unguarded in their communication. And so we’re getting insight into exactly what’s happening inside the FBI at the highest levels.”

Jay Weber: “Could you read again the passage? What Peter Strzok’s message there was a couple of days after it was announced that Mueller was going to put together this team.”

Johnson: “Yeah, they’re wondering, and we think they’re probably considering whether or not they want to join that team, Strzok says, quote, ‘You and I both know the odds are nothing. If I thought it was likely, I’d be there no question. I hesitate in part because of my gut sense and concern there’s no big there there.’”